San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-10-14

! anu MS kulllS NtIt hlillh0l lbhlllltNrF anu
his nose so ilattened with age rs 10 be al
most invisible, looking at him rs | was
looking, in profile. His hands were as
soft as any woman's, but icy cold and his
eyes were red and fiery.
"Boule-de-neige, what do you think OF
himi"
Him berry fine young man, massa;
him beautiful young man; got lubly alb
battle DEVELOPED, tink; him last long
time, much longer time dan last oder
young man. Cluck! Him poor trash, dat
young man; dam poor trash; use up and
go to debbel in a month. Cluckl Dis
young man got lubly stumjack, strong rs
bull. Cluck-Cluck! How much you tink
him eat tonight"
1--WE shall see, Boule-de-neige We will
try him with a simple dinner, and then
J pronounce on his performances. Young
! men do not always come up TO their pro-
fessiOns. But he looks well, and perhaps,
BOule-de neige-perhaps-ahl' lie nod
ded with n deep sigh.
what time massa dine himselfy'
~ don't know, the old gentleman an
swered, with another heavy sigh. per
haps not till 8 O'Clock; perhaps not then.
1t all depends on this youth. Vanish,
Boule-de-neige, and serve"
There was evidently something in my
hosts mind by the way he sighed. Why
did it depend upon me? And did Boule-
e-neige go through the fioor' Did the
table sink when he disappeared, and come
up loaded with dishes' 1t seemed so.
| | sprang from the couch. The sight and
smell of the food brought back my raging
hunger.
"Let me eatr' cried.
| II, a.
single moment. Young man, tell me
again and explicitly the nature and ex-
tent of your appetite BE truthful, oh,
be truthful! Our little tongues should
never lie for mutton chop or apple pie.
You know the hymn. l hope you have
been religiously brought up, and know
that hymn"
'Ive got a devil of an appetite. What
is there to lie abOut9"
| "My dear young friend, there are many
kinds of appetites. Yours may be fierce
at first and promise great things, and
then end in a miserably small perform
| ance. / have known such and mourned
to see them. Is it lasting appetite, now'
| Is 1t steady through long dinnerl Is it
| regular in its recurrence"
| you shall see something of my per-
| Torrance" laughed insensate wretch
"YOu shall see. / never had long din
ner in my life, because / always made
| hort work of mine. 1t is steady through
good many pounds Of steak, and as
| regular as a clock"
THAT is always something. Steak is
| as healthy test as l know. Is it, sec
| ondly, an appetite that RECEIVERS itself
| quickly? That is very important. Is IL
| day by day or an hour by hour Appetizer
Is it good at all times of the day''
"Alas, wish it were notr'
"Hush, young man; do not blaspheme!
| Tell me, if you eat your fill now-it is
| 4:30-when do you think you might be
ready again?' His eyes glistened like
couple of great rubies in the candle light,
and his hands trembled
81 should say about 8. But l might do
something light at Z, l dare say Just
now feel as if / could eat mountain.
"He feels as if he could eat mountainl
Wonderful are the gifts of Providencel
Ny dear young friend, am very thankful
deeply thankful-that | met you. Sit
down, and let me take the covers off for
you; l long to see you eat This is a
blessed day-a truly blessed day. l will
wait upon you myself. No one else.
Boule-de-neige, vanish"'
AS he was about to take off the covers
he stopped short.
"Stay. You are without occupatiOnF'
81 can get none"
'YOu are of any trade?'
81 am an actor"
"a bad trade-an un-Christian trade.
Actors are vagabonds by act of parlia-
| ment. Actors can never be in a state of
grace. / shall be happy in being a hum
bic instrument in removing you from a
calling fatal to the Christian warrior.
Why did you leave your last situation9
No dishonesty? No embezzlementS No
tampering with accounts2'
"Sir, | have always been an honest man.
And, besides, have never been tempted
by the handling of other peoples money"
''Ha! You have got no wife?''
mo, sir; | am unmarried"
"YOu have got no l trust / am
taking to my bosom no deceiver of women.
You are not the father of an illegitimate
offspring, hope and pray"
mo sir; l am not"
young man, you are about to enter
upon a most serious act, perhaps the most
serious act of your life, and these ques-
tons may appear to you trivial and tedi-
Gus. As Christian, and q member Of
the congregation of Mr.. - But never
mind; you are hungry now, and wish to
eat We will talk after dinner
He took off the covers. The table was
spread with a dozen different dishes, all
served up together. Others l noticed,
standing with bottles and decanters, on
large sidebOard. AS my generous bene-
factor removed the silver covers, his face,
which had assumed during his question:
ing an austere gravity, suddenly lit up,
and he laughed as the perfume of the hot
food mounted to his nOstrils. He seemed
all at once different man.
Gently, gently, my dear young friend.
Here is a dinner fit for king; fit for me,
if l could eat it. Oh! my dainty Boule-
de-neige! Ha! is it right to waste such a
dinner on youth whose only dreams are
of a sufficiency of steak? Young nan, in
after years-ahem-in after days you
will remember this dinner. You will re-
call svery item in this delicious bill of fare
which Boulede-neige has set before you.
Let me teach you TO eat it properly.
Weigh your mOrsels."
Heaven! how cursed his delay. He
kept one great hand between me and the
dishes, for fear, l suppose, that l should
pounce upon them and clear them off all
at once.
Patience, patience. Consider each
mouthful. Try to be thankful that cooks
have brought their divine art to such per-
lection. Garry back your thoughts to
grunt-to time when all mankind fed
upon imperfectly cooked steak. Think
that all the treasures of the east and west
have been ransacked to furnish for me
this meal, and that you will never, never,
see such a dinner again as long as you